This lesson is called scaling to multiple clients, and then we'll show you how to grow your client
base so you can scale your business and scale your profits.
In this lesson, we will be covering.
How you can keep your pipeline full at all times.
How you can go about getting referrals so you can scale to those multiple clients and why you should
continue building your portfolio throughout your entire freelance journey.
The reason this lesson is important is because having multiple streams of monthly recurring revenue
is the formula for building a profitable freelance business.
In order to do that, you need to keep your pipeline full at all times.
So the first part of this lesson is all about keeping your pipeline full and your pipeline is the backbone
of your business.
It will be the reason you either succeed or fail as a freelancer.
So to continue keeping your pipeline full.
You need to first never stop prospecting.
So you always want to keep the proposal process going.
Keep prospecting and bring in new opportunities using the winning proposal formula.
One of the biggest mistakes I see freelancers make is that once they get a few clients, they start
prospecting.
They've closed a few deals and then they stop going out there and trying to get more clients throughout
your process.
You cannot expect to keep every client you have forever.
So now that you know that you need to make sure that you're filling your future pipeline with other
potential clients, so you can definitely expect some people to turn you down and some clients to leave
you throughout your freelance career.
That is the real world.
So you do need to expect that and always be prospecting so you can overcome that.
And so you can continue to prosper.
What you need to do is commit to daily prospecting.
The only way this will help you is if you commit yourself to do it every single day.
You need to make a big commitment and dedication to yourself that you are going to keep your pipeline
full at all times.
And to do that, you need to take all the actions necessary to get the deal closed.
Then follow up with all of those people and continue doing that process over and over.
So even those things you don't feel like doing, like putting all the time in to create that winning
proposal and to continue following up in creative ways, even if the client doesn't get back to you
at the end of the day.
Keep that in mind that that is well worth it because you need to keep prospecting to secure your future
as a profitable freelancer next to keep your pipeline full.
You can expand to additional channels.
So remember, keep your circle of focus very, very tight and only expand to another platform once you
have that first one mastered.
I don't suggest going off of Upwork until you have made a good amount of money on there, and now you're
ready to spread your wings and to expand to other channels.
When you're first starting out, you need to do everything you can and focus all of your attention on
that single network in this case.
Upwork.
So you can build that profitable profile that will secure you clients down the line.
Only then can you move on to that next channel or that next website or platform to land some more freelance
deals.
Next, you must pay attention and get people in your pipeline.
It won't matter how good you are at your service.
If you don't have any clients to serve and it takes a massive level of continued action to keep that
sales funnel for no matter what day it is or how the economy is doing.
The number one reason businesses fail is because they can't get enough qualified leads to purchase their
products or services.
So make sure you don't end up in that position and you're always planning ahead by taking those massive
levels of action.
And returning to your previous contacts is another powerful way you can keep your pipeline full.
This is when you can start to begin using that network you've built over the years to find new opportunities.
And this isn't just as a freelancer.
This is your entire work career and even all of your acquaintances and family members start to go back
and look where there's opportunities to integrate into your pipeline.
Which leads us right into our next section, which is getting client referrals.
Start with your current network.
So just like with getting that trial client, starting with your current network is the best place to
start when you want to land.
Some referral clients are referral is when a client or a connection you have refers another business
owner to do business with you.
This is one of the most powerful forms of lead generation because the word of mouth referral is one
of the most trusted and credible sources of referral.
People trust their friends more than anyone else, and they trust people in their circle more than the
business or freelancer that's trying to do business with them.
So when you have a referral, take that very seriously, because that's a great way to start to grow
your freelance business in your current network.
You can look at friends, friends of friends and relatives.
Start there and look at no one who's a business owner or number two, who knows a business owner or
know someone who has a brand or a company that they could use your help with.
It's all about using the resources and the network.
You already have to get those referrals, then move to your professional circle.
Once you've exhausted all of the options and your friends and families and relatives, then move on
to people you've done business with in the past, such as your current clients or even your prior unsold
clients.
This might sound funny, but if you go back and even those clients that didn't do business with you,
you might be able to get a referral from them because maybe they wanted to do business with you.
But it just wasn't a good time or something didn't work out because you already invested time in that
client.
You might as well try to get a referral out of them and see if anyone else they know could use your
services.
The same way you go about asking for the clothes is the same way you should approach getting referrals.
You just need to ask for it.
Don't be shy here.
Reach out to your network and ask them if they know anyone that could benefit from what you serve.
This is a great way you can land more clients, and that's a gold mine that's already sitting there.
It's just waiting for you to go, nurture and uncover it.
You can ask things like, Who else do you know that can benefit from the service?
You can ask your network this either through a phone call, an email or even a text.
You do want to make sure you ask this at the appropriate time.
For example, after a successful month or right after you've onboarded the client, you wouldn't want
to ask this during a rough period or when sales for the company are down that month or anything like
that.
So use your best judgment, but make sure you do ask for it when the time is right.
That's how you can start getting these referrals.
Another way that you can get a referral from a previous client is to say something like this.
I worked with you about three months ago on that project, and I'm calling to see if you know any other
businesses that need a similar project completed.
This is really a win win because when you do something like this, you're getting that word of mouth
out there.
And like we just discussed, word of mouth is king.
So you will get a direct word of mouth referral and in return, your client can now help out one of
their business partners or one of their friends.
So I wish I had placed more of an emphasis on getting referrals in the beginning of my freelance career
because I didn't know how powerful that they were going to be until I started to see it happen with
my own eyes, with a handful of high Typekit clients and learning how to ask for referrals in the right
manner that could exponentially increase the revenue you're at as a freelancer.
Lastly, in this lesson, we are going to discuss how and why you should continue building your portfolio
out on Upwork.
Ultimately, this is what is going to help you scale to multiple clients.
Continue building those case studies and portfolio items, so you can use that to sell future clients
with the results you've had.
Once you start to have some good success stories, you need to use those to get future clients.
You need to open your proposals with those.
Use those on your sales calls and in the sales demos.
And use the results instead of just using words or claims.
That is how you can start to show potential clients that you are the real deal and you can back it up
with results.
And all of those results should be in your portfolio.
Another benefit of keeping your portfolio up to date is that it helps you get found because when you're
updating your portfolio, Upwork knows this and they're looking to match up business owners with freelancers
that are the most active on the platform.
They don't want freelancers getting jobs that don't check for days and days.
They want freelancers that are in the platform every day that are constantly updating their portfolio
and staying on top of the ball.
That is how you can get yourself in the best position to be found by future clients.
And lastly, building a positive online reputation is what will help you attract clients to you as you
start your freelance journey on Upwork.
You are going to have to go out there, build a lot of those winning proposals and do a lot of selling
and showing how much value you can deliver.
Once you've gotten past that initial period and you already have a portfolio that's starting to come
together and your online reputation is starting to increase, that's when you will notice clients that
want to work with you will start to come out of the framework, and Upwork makes this very easy for
you.
They will send you emails when a client invites you to a project, and they will also start showing
your profile to business owners as they search on the platform for specific freelancers.
So, for example, if someone's looking for Google ads or YouTube ads, a lot of times I am showing
up for that client and they're finding me that way.
Clients want to work with the most expert level freelancer they can.
If it's a high tech, a client and when you continue to build your portfolio up, you're adding in those
case studies and you're continuing to get those reviews.
That is how you can put yourself in the best position to start to attract those clients to come to you.
So now you know how you can start scaling to multiple clients.
I hope this was helpful and I look forward to your future freelance success.
I'll see you in the next lesson.